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Monday, August 21, 2017

Love at the Italian Lake by Darcie Boleyn - Book Review & Giveaway

Sophia and her boyfriend Lee don't have an equal relationship. Sophia earns the money and has a high-end job while Lee likes spending what she makes. Lee doesn't mind living an easy and carefree life and Sophia keeps enabling it. When she finds him in bed with another woman Sophia knows it's time to make some drastic changes. Her sole purpose in life is doing her work as well as she can and she used to be prepared to give up everything for it, what if being a successful businesswoman isn't enough any longer?

To give herself time to think Sophia quits her job and travels to Italy to stay with her grandmother for a while. In Italy she meets Joe. Joe is at a crossroads in his life as well. They like each other, but they are both in Italy for a short time, however they have the summer. Will they have a chance to find some happiness, even if it's just for a short while, or will family secrets and problems at home make it difficult for them to enjoy their time together?

Love at the Italian Lake is a wonderful story. Sophia is driven, but insecure. She doesn't know how beautiful she is, both inside and out. Her stay in Italy makes her discover a lot about herself and her family, which was really fascinating. It was fabulous to see her grow and find herself. Joe is a good friend and he has a trustworthy personality and natural charm that make him accessible. He's a kind and talented man, but he's also troubled. Sophia and Joe are great together, but they both have baggage. I was curious to find out their family secrets and couldn't turn the pages quickly enough to discover if Sophia and Joe would have a chance together. I liked their easy and sparkling friendship. They're perfect main characters for a feelgood romantic story.

Darcie Boleyn has a heartwarming writing style. Her way with words is clever and her stories are laced with humor. Love at the Italian Lake is about people who have to deal with change and I loved the complete way she explores the many emotional layers of this recognizable theme. She combines this with a stunning setting that kept mesmerizing me. I enjoyed reading about Italy and the abundance of deliciousness and beauty it has to offer. I liked this gorgeous captivating story very much and thinking about it keeps putting a big smile on my face.

Advice

If you love beautiful settings combined with wonderful main characters and a lovely romantic story I'd highly recommend Love at the Italian Lake.

About Darcie Boleyn

Darcie Boleyn has a huge heart and is a real softy. She never fails to cry at books and movies, whether the ending is happy or not. Darcie is in possession of an overactive imagination that often keeps her awake at night.

Her childhood dream was to become a Jedi but she hasn’t yet found suitable transport to take her to a galaxy far, far away. She also has reservations about how she’d look in a gold bikini, as she rather enjoys red wine, cheese and loves anything with ginger or cherries in it – especially chocolate.

Darcie fell in love in New York, got married in the snow, rescues uncoordinated greyhounds and can usually be found reading or typing away on her laptop.

One very lucky reader of With Love For Books will receive a wonderful Summer at Conwenna Cove prize consisting of a signed bookmark and a postcard with a message from Darcie Boleyn. One runner up will win an unsigned bookmark and postcard.